Resources

Presentation and notes from Community Dialogues

22 May 2013

On 7 May, Council of Social Services (Dunedin) hosted the NZ Council of Social Services, Community Research, Volunteering NZ and Social Development Partners who discussed with local community organisations the current environment  and the impact it is having on community organisations. Presentation and notes available to download: Presentation and notes from Dunedin (PDF, 207 KB)

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LawSpot.org.nz

19 March 2013

Making Law Accessible LawSpot is a website where members of the public, like you, can ask questions about New Zealand Law and qualified lawyer volunteers will answer them for free. For further information or to ask a question www.lawspot.org.nz

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Strategic planning versus the strategic plan

19 March 2013

Is the strategic plan dead? Over the past two decades there has been a noticeable trend towards questioning the validity of the traditional strategic planning process. After all, the traditional 3-5 year strategic plan emerged from military practice following WW2, was adapted by the corporate sector during a period of relative stability and evolved into a non-profit activity in [...]

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Free webinar: The risks and rewards of charity mergers

9 January 2013

This free webinar features a panel of UK experts discussing the risks and rewards of charity mergers, looking at how they can be used to effectively reduce costs, pool resources and strengthen all parties involved. Tom Wright, Group Chief Executive, Age UK, oversaw the largest merger in the charity sector in recent years, bringing together [...]

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Slides from Jim Diers’ ‘The Power of Neighbourhoods’ workshops

8 January 2013

In December, Council of Social Services (Dunedin) joined forces with other local groups to bring to Dunedin an internationally-recognised expert in neighbourhood development, Jim Diers. Jim has kindly made his PowerPoint slides available to download: Breakfast presentation: Building government-community partnerships (PDF, 10.8 MB) Workshop 1: Creating effective partnerships by rebuilding community and reorienting agencies (PDF, [...]

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Results Based Accountability (RBA) toolkit

8 January 2013

Family and Community Services have developed a toolkit around Results Based Accountability, which is now freely available. The finalised resources attached are: RBA Guidelines Two PowerPoint presentations: One-hour introduction to RBA Half-day presentation on RBA Basics RBA ready reference wallet card (A4 downloadable version) Glossary of RBA terms RBA snapshot (A4 downloadable desk poster) Two [...]

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New research into working with business

18 December 2012

Inspiring Communities, Creative New Zealand, and the Department of Internal Affairs have produced a report on research into business’ current practices, needs, motivations  and experience supporting community organisations. The report includes practical steps and useful advice for community organisations, to help build strategic relationships with businesses that are beneficial to the business and the community. Engagement [...]

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MYD resources: Involving young people in your organisation

17 December 2012

The Ministry of Youth Development has released guides for helping to make organisations more welcoming to young people, and for encouraging their contribution: Youth participation in decision-making Youth development approach Structured youth development programmes Source: Christchurch Council of Social Services News Bulletin

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Red Cross launches ‘Address the Stress’ website

14 December 2012

The New Zealand Red Cross have launched a new website aimed at helping young people to find tips for getting through hard times. Address the Stress features some high profile New Zealanders including Dan Carter, Sarah Walker, and Dai Henwood – as well as tips sourced from young people.

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New resource shares knowledge about the needs and experiences of disabled parents

6 December 2012

The Families Commission has released a resource that shares knowledge about the needs and experiences of disabled parents. It has drawn on selected national and international research, strategies and other material. It has also carried out a small number of consultations with disabled parents and agencies working in the disability sector, and looked at findings [...]

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Community Economic Development literature review

5 December 2012

Community Economic Development’s research literature review summary is a quick read with some valuable information. The review explores the following key concepts: Community Economic Development (CED) Social Economy Social Enterprise Social Entrepreneurship Social Innovation Community Ownership of Assets Social Finance and Investment Social Value and Impact Assessment … in terms of their history, theroretical frameworks and [...]

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Resources for teaching the language of complaint to new speakers of English

4 December 2012

A group of specialised complaint handling organisations have released free resources for teaching the language of complaint to new speakers of English. The resources were developed by Financial Dispute Resolution and Dispute Resolution Services, and other organisations. They are available free online for anyone to use at www.fdr.org.nz and www.complaintline.org.nz. Downloadable resources are also accessible [...]

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Spot prizes and the law

30 November 2012

Spot prizes are given at a wide range of not-for-profit events but – of course they have to be conducted according to the law. Spot prize draws accompanying entry fees involve ‘chance’ and under the Gambling Act, are qualify as ‘gambling’. Not-for-profit clubs, organisations or groups can have prize draws at their contests or tournaments. [...]

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Summer closedown period: Rules for employers

29 November 2012

Many not-for-profit organisations will be closing over the summer break. The information below explains employers’ and employees’ rights during this time. What is a closedown period? Closedown period means a period during which the employer customarily closes the Employer’s operations or discontinues the work of one or more Employees and requires his or her Employees [...]

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Introducing CarersAir

29 November 2012

Associate Minister of Health Jo Goodhew has launched CarersAir, a new online space for family carers to watch, listen, read, share, and learn. CarersAir has been developed by Carers New Zealand with support from a range of public, private, and community partners, and will automatically update carers about topics of interest every time they visit the portal, saving their ‘favourites’ [...]

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Introducing the Wellbeing Game

19 October 2012

Healthy Christchurch and the Mental Health Foundation are bringing you this year’s Wellbeing Game. What is the Wellbeing Game? Training for happiness The Wellbeing Game is a ‘game for life’ – the goal is to accumulate hours of ‘happiness’.  You play in ‘real life’, keeping track of the time you invest in your wellbeing. What [...]

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Free ‘Volunteering in the Arts’ toolkit

8 October 2012

Voluntary Arts England and Volunteering England have released a free toolkit to support small and medium-sized arts groups who struggle to improve the support they offer volunteers. The toolkit includes: Ideas, suggestions and recommendations A range of checklists for those new to working with volunteers A range of case studies to celebrate what is already happening across [...]

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New community engagement resources from Charities at DIA

19 September 2012

Charities and Creative New Zealand recently joined up to commission some independent research into relationships between the business and community sectors. More than a thousand business organisations participated in the research, which has been used by Inspiring Communities to create resources and opportunities for charities and businesses interested in establishing or strengthening their partnerships. The [...]

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Introducing Security Central

11 September 2012

The Security Central website is designed to be a  one stop shop for individuals and small organisations in New Zealand looking for free and simple to follow computer security advice from NetSafe and selected security partners. NetSafe has been tasked under the government’s Cyber Security Strategy with raising awareness of cyber security issues as more and more [...]

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Free ebook: Psychology for a better world

10 September 2012

Psychology for a Better World: Strategies to Inspire Sustainability is a book – freely available in PDF format – for people who believe it is worth trying to make a world in which both our species and the ecological systems we are part of can flourish. It is based on the latest research in psychology and is jam-packed [...]

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Introducing Health Navigator NZ

23 August 2012

Health Navigator NZ is a not-for-profit initiative led by clinicians and consumers in response to the need for a central place to find reliable and trustworthy health information and self-help resources. It aims to provide a centralised resource of accurate and reliable health information, tools, and resources. The aim is to support, equip, and enable [...]

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Introducing Dunedin’s digital ambassadors

14 August 2012

During the development of the Dunedin Digital Strategy there was a clear message from the Dunedin public that community-specific projects needed to be led by the community. The Digital Office was set up to lead and support Digital Strategy projects and ensure that the proposed benefits are achieved. The Digital Office is a not-for-profit organisation reliant [...]

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Community Law Manual now available online

1 August 2012

The Community Law Manual sets out comprehensive legal information for everyday users. The 2012-13 edition is the first to be made freely available online. The Community Law Manual deals with many areas of community and personal life and provides answers and solutions to common legal questions, including: The New Zealand legal system Human rights Legal [...]

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Guide to claiming a tax credit for donations

7 July 2012

Inland Revenue has published the following information, that charities might like to pass on to donors. How to claim a tax credit for donations If you’ve made a donation to an approved donee organisation you can claim a tax credit. There are two ways of claiming this tax credit: by filing a Tax credit claim [...]

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Guide to using social media

7 July 2012

Sport New Zealand has developed nine-step guide to using social media for organisations who haven’t used it before. It was developed in early 2012 and is appropriate for any charity to use. Download the nine-step guide to using social media (Microsoft Word, 5.5 MB). Sport NZ’s webpage also contains examples of some successful use of social media [...]

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